Years ago, when it became apparent that Michael Vick was a better athlete than a quarterback, the idea of switching him from the guy who threw passes to the one who caught them was brought up regularly. And others suggested putting him in the backfield — that is, further back than he already was under center. The theory behind these notions was that he wasn’t a good conventional quarterback, but with his blazing speed, he’d cause nightmares for opposing defenses.
One of my fondest memories, in fact, was when Vick and the Falcons invaded Lambeau Field in the 2002 playoffs and ousted a heavily-favored Packers team with a nearly flawless home record.
But forgive me if I scoff at the latest rumors about the possibility of Vick coming to Chicago to resuscitate his football career, an idea that was derived from an interview Lovie Smith did with USA Today, saying:
“I would look at Michael like I look at every other prospect that’s available: He goes back into the pool. Mike made a mistake, and he’s paying the price for that mistake. Once you’ve paid your debt to society, you have to say, ‘OK, let’s go on from there.’”
First of all, Lovie is a good man of faith and I think some people are reading too far into what he said. I simply feel Lovie is showing his compassion and voicing his belief that we as a nation shouldn’t forever brand a person by his negative actions, however heinous they might be.
Regardless of what Michael Vick did to those poor dogs, I wouldn’t have accepted him as the Bears quarterback, not even in his best years as a pro. Why would I want him after he’s spent two years away from football?
Even some of the hardest working quarterbacks in the NFL, who train almost year-round to be the best they can be, aren’t very good at what they do. Why are we to believe that Vick can step back on the field and suddenly wow people with his dazzling maneuvers?
So, if he can’t play quarterback any more — although he hardly ever could, in my opinion — those same rumblings that we heard in the past about him switching positions will soon again resurface. This time around, Vick will be more willing to make the switch because he’ll want to get back on the field and rebuild his life. But despite the glaring deficiency at wide receiver, I wouldn’t take a chance on Vick to fill that void. Who knows if he can even catch a pass?
I don’t even know how and why the idea of Vick coming to Chicago started circulating in the media. Probably from some desperate Bears beat writers tired of watching bad quarterback play for too long. But I’d much rather watch Kyle Orton for another year than see the Bears partake in the Michael Vick Experiment.
